SALT LAKE CITY - Westminster men's and women's cross country will make their final push for a spot in the 2021 NCAA Championships as they compete in the 2021 NCAA South Central Regional Meet on Saturday morning at the Chaparral Ridge Cross Country Course.  Saturday's meet, which is being hosted by Lubbock Christian University, will begin the women's 6k race at 8 a.m. (MDT) followed by the men's 10k at 9:15 a.m. (MDT).

Meet Info:
- Location: Chaparral Ridge Cross Country Course 
- Women's 6K: Saturday, 8 a.m. (MDT)
- Men's 10K: Saturday, 9:15 a.m. (MDT)
- The 2021 NCAA South Central Men's and Women's Cross Country Regional will be hosted by Lubbock Christian University.
- Saturday's men's and women's races will be available to live stream on the Lone Star Conference Digital Network.

About the Griffins:
- Westminster has been eligible to compete in the NCAA Regional meet since 2018 and saw its best team finish on the women's side back in 2019 (17th).
- Hannah Rohrer-Fitzhugh ran a 24:00.4 6k back in 2019, the best time for the women's team at the regional meet.
- Eric Mellmer ran a 33:46.6 10k back in 2018, the best finish for a Westminster men's runner.
- Westminster men's and women's team history:
    - Women
    2019: 17th - 2:02:46 total time - 24:33 avg time
    2018: 18th - 2:03:24 total time - 24:40 avg time
    - Men
    2019: 23rd - 2:58:20 total time - 35:40 avg time
    2018: 22nd - 2:57:35 total time - 35:31 avg time
- Westminster's women's team, ranked 10th in the latest South Central Region coaches' rankings, has posted two first-place team finishes this season in a pair of 5k races.
- Westminster women finished first at the Maverick Invite back on Sept. 25, first at the Fort Hays State Tiger Open on Oct. 9, and finished sixth overall while placing ahead of several Division I teams at the UC-Riverside Invitational back on Sept. 18.
- Saydi Anderson was named RMAC Runner of the Week after finishing third with a 17:50.21 5k at the FHSU Tiger Open.
- Westminster's men finished third as a team at both the Maverick Invite on Sept. 25 as well as a third place finish at the Steve T. Reeder Memorial on Oct. 8.

Competing for Westminster:
- Men's 10K:
    - Peter Frank
    - Thomas Maxfield
    - Riley McCarter
- Women's 6K:
    - Hannah Rohrer-Fitzhugh
    - Saydi Anderson
    - Emily Worline
    - Courtney McAlindon
    - Josii Johnson
    - Amanda Lee

NCAA Championships Qualification Criteria:
- Full selection procedures for NCAA Championship selection are available HERE. Below is a brief summary:
- The top three teams from each regional meet will automatically advance to the championship finals (24 teams).
- 10 at-large teams will be selected by the NCAA Division II Men's and Women's Cross Country Committee using the below-outlined selection criteria (in priority order). There is no limit to the number of at-large teams that may be selected from any given region.
- After the 34 selected teams have been determined, a minimum of 24 additional individuals per gender are selected to compete at the NCAA Championships.
    1. The top two individuals per region who are not part of a qualifying team will automatically advance to the championship finals (16 individuals).
    2. All individuals who finish in the top five at the regional meet and are not part of a qualifying team will automatically advance to the championship finals.
    3. The next eight individuals will be selected at-large. There is no limit to the number of at-large individuals that may be selected from the same region.

Up Next:
The 2021 NCAA Championships will be hosted in Tampa Bay, Fla., on Saturday, Nov. 20.

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